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God of War
God of War is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2 console released on March 22, 2005. As an action-adventure game based on Greek mythology, God of War was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division. It was very well received by critics and fans alike and was the recipient of many awards, including "Game of the Year" honors from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. IGN even named God of War the best Playstation 2 game ever. The game is now available in the PlayStation 2's lineup of Greatest Hits. Thanks in part to the critical and commercial success of the original, a sequel titled God of War II was released March 13, 2007. In 2007, IGN named God of War as the greatest PlayStation 2 game of all time, on their Top 25 PS2 Games list. Gameplay God of War focuses heavily on combat and puzzle-solving, much like the Prince of Persia series. Kratos, the main character in the God of War series, can also enable a temporary state-of-being called Rage of the Gods, granting him highly increased speed and power, as well as a large reduction in damage taken. God of War is notable for its movie-like presentation. While most epic games suffer from immersion-breaking loading screens, God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences to gameplay and back with very little load time. The load times are masked by prefetching the next area as the player traverses a long, relatively featureless area. Story The story is told mostly in flashback, after being framed with a scene from the present wherein Kratos, standing atop the tallest cliff in Greece, laments how the Gods have abandoned him and tosses himself into the waters below. While the player starts the game three weeks prior to this event, Kratos' background is told by the Narrator during the game (revealed to be the Titan Gaia in God of War II). Kratos was a fearsome Spartan warrior, and grew his fifty-man squad into an army of thousands via strategy, tactics, ferocity and conquest. However, in a battle against a barbarian horde, his army was massacred, and, in a desperate measure, Kratos offered his life and service to Ares, the God of War, in exchange for Ares defeating the Barbarians. Ares, sensing enormous power in Kratos, accepted his offer and destroyed the Barbarians. He also granted Kratos the Blades of Chaos, curved blades forged in the pits of Hades that were attached to long chains which were fused to Kratos' arms. Kratos then became Ares' servant, leading the Spartan army in conquering much of Greece. In one battle, they came across a village that worshiped Athena and put the residents to the sword. Despite his own foreboding feelings and the warnings of the local oracle, Kratos entered the village's temple and slaughtered all within. Unfortunately, after his blood-lust cleared, he realized that his two last victims had been his own wife and daughter; Ares explained that this village had been a test of Kratos' power, severing the last of his humanity. The village Oracle cursed Kratos, binding the ashes of his dead family to his skin; this new pale coating gave rise to Kratos' new title, "the Ghost of Sparta." Kratos renounced his service to Ares and began to wander the Earth, lamenting his deeds, while serving the other Gods of Olympus for ten years. The player becomes involved in Kratos' story as he is approaching Athena's city of Athens, under siege by Ares' army. After a tangle with the giant Hydra, Kratos is approached by Athena, who wants him to stop Ares and save her city. Kratos fights his way through the attacking forces to find the Oracle of Athens, and learns from her that Pandora's Box can give a mortal the power to kill a God. Unfortunately, due to the Gods' fear of this power, the box is locked deep within the Temple of Pandora, constructed on the back of the Titan Kronos, who wanders the Desert of Lost Souls. Kratos makes his way to the Temple, defeating many foes and evading the many traps built into the Temple by its crazed architect, Pathos Verdes III. He recovers Pandora's Box, but Ares senses his success, and throws a pillar from Athens to the Temple, impaling Kratos on a wall and killing him. However, Kratos is able to escape the Underworld and return to his mortal body. He returns to Athens, regains Pandora's Box, and confronts Ares. When Kratos proves the superior warrior in their opening exchange, Ares attempts to drive Kratos mad by making him relive the death of his family. Opening a portal, Ares traps Kratos in an illusion. Ares recreates the temple where Kratos slew his wife and child, along with images of Kratos's Family. Ares then creates copies of Kratos which attack his wife and child. After this fails, Ares strips the Blades of Chaos from Kratos' arms (he gave them, so he could take them away) and impales Kratos' family with them. Freed from his own mind but now weaponless, Kratos is at the mercy of Ares until he spots a very large metal sword which was formerly used just as an ornamental bridge inside Athens. With it, he engages, defeats and murders his former master, the God of War. After receiving the congratulations from the Gods, Kratos asks Athena to remove the nightmares of his past. Athena explains that the Gods can only forgive him for his sins; the nightmares, unfortunately, are permanent. Feeling abandoned, Kratos climbs back to the bluffs overlooking the Aegean Sea and, as the game comes full circle, tosses himself over the edge. However, as he breaks the waves below, he is pulled out by Athena. He has served the gods well, she explains, and there is a throne waiting for him that currently has no occupant: the throne of the God of War. Characters Major characters Kratos The main character, a Spartan warrior who swears revenge against Ares for betraying him and for making him turn his sword on his wife and daughter. Athena The goddess of righteous wars and wisdom who is the most prominent god who helps Kratos on his quest. Ares The God of War who caused Kratos to murder his own family, and is now the target of his revenge. He is killed by Kratos in the end of the game. The Village Oracle An oracle to the village that Kratos and his men burned to the ground. She bears a glowing Omega necklace, hinting that she works for/is Ares, and warned Kratos of going into the temple, as his wife and child were inside. She had attached the ashes of his dead family to his skin after their death. The Oracle of Athens A servant to Athena who seeks to help Kratos in his quest to vanquish Ares. It was she who told Kratos of Pandora's Box and where it was located, sending him through the Desert of Lost Souls to find The Sirens.2 The Grave Digger A mysterious man digging a grave on the edge of Athens, his exact agenda is unknown but it turns out he is digging an opening to The Underworld, just in time for Kratos to escape from that place. It is implied that he is one of the gods of Olympus. The Body Burner The first to enter the Temple of Pandora and in his own words the first to die. Punished by the Gods to burn the body of anyone who dies in the temple, he is immortal of spirit but not of body, hence his rotting visage. Only the Body Burner can unlock the doors to Pandora's Temple for Kratos. Pathos Verdes III This man was a zealot who - according to the Body Burner - lived only to serve the gods but went mad trying. He constructed the entire Temple of Pandora while slipping deeper into his madness and the rumor is that he's still alive, still inside, trying to appease the Gods who abandoned him years ago. Towards the end of Pandora's Temple, Kratos discovers that in his madness Pathos murdered his wife (fearing she would interfere with his completion of the temple) and then committed suicide. Pathos and Kratos share similarities in that they are both servants of the gods who lose their families and perhaps their minds in service to the gods of Olympus. Kratos' Wife and Child In the past they were the only people who did not fear Kratos, but sadly they were both killed by Kratos when he was deceived by Ares at the massacre of the temple of Athena. They reappear later as a cruel illusion forged by the God of War in an attempt to defeat Kratos in battle when Kratos proved stronger than Ares thought. They were killed again when the Blades of Chaos were commanded to impale them by their master, The God Of War. The Narrator An unseen, omniscient voice that narrates the story of Kratos to the gamer throughout the game's cutscenes. In God of War II it is revealed that the narrator is actually the voice of Gaia the Titan, who has been watching Kratos' exploits through the story in the first game. Common Enemies Undead Legionary Ares' army of the undead. Dressed in the armor of ancient Greek warriors, they appear as demonic skeletons with bits of decaying flesh clinging to their bones. A frequently encountered enemy, they sometimes come in clusters and are quite varied; early on they wear little armor and wield short swords, but as the game progresses, they begin to appear wielding larger swords and wearing heavier armor, and eventually end up wielding massive shields and scythes. Undead Archers A unique variety of Undead Legionaires, they engage Kratos in combat by attacking him from afar with flaming arrows that explode on impact, and carry no swords, shields, or other melee equipment. They usually appear either in pairs or in groups. Though their arrows are strong, and Kratos can easily be killed in a barrage of them, the archers are among the physically weakest of the legionaires when engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Minotaurs A species of anthropomorphic bulls, appearing to be about eight feet tall. They walk on their hind legs and carry a variety of massive axes. Over the course of the game, the Minotaurs Kratos encounters become larger, more powerful, and more heavily armored and well armed. Kratos can kill them by thrusting a sword in their open mouths and out the back of their heads. Cyclops Squat giants with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads. They resemble the stereotypical depiction of cave men. They attack Kratos either with their fists or with giant clubbed weapons. Harpies Monsters with the heads of bald, deformed women, and the bodies of bats. They usually appear in large groups to attack Kratos. Individually weak, they can easily overpower Kratos as part of a group attack. In addition to biting and slashing Kratos with their fangs and talons, they can cause their own bodies to start on fire and dive bomb Kratos. Wraiths The vengeful ghosts of those who died in combat opposing Ares; utterly consumed by the rage in which they died, they now attack any living thing that comes near them. They appear as eyeless, emaciated humans with decaying flesh and bladed arms. Instead of legs, their waists terminate in clouds of black smoke from which they float. They can collapse themselves into this smoke and float around beneath the earth, exploding up from beneath Kratos' feet to attack him. Gorgons Humanoid-sized, green, lizard-like creatures with the heads, arms, and breasts of women and the bodies of snakes; instead of hair, their heads are covered by masses of writhing asps. They emit beams of energy from their eyes which can turn living things to stone. Sirens Creatures which resemble deformed women with long bangs obscuring their monstrous faces. Dressed in flowing white tunics, they float around the Desert of Lost Souls, singing songs to lure treasure hunters to them, and then killing said treasure hunters. Their death shrieks emit sonic waves which reveal and open the path to Pandora's Temple. Another group of Sirens later attacks Kratos just before Pandora's Temple, and later on inside the temple. Satyrs Giant, anthropomorphic goats 6-7 feet tall that walk about on their hind legs. Skilled warriors, they wear heavy armor and wield giant ornate staves with large blades on either end, which they either use as axes or to attack with spinning motions. They are the most skilled enemies in the game in terms of hand-to-hand combat, and the most capable of putting up a sustained defense against Kratos' attacks. Centaurs Servants of Hades, they only appear in the section of Pandora's temple built to honor him, and in the pits of Hades itself. They are half human, half horse; their human half is comprised of a demonic, armored man from the head to the waist. The waist transitions into a horse's body, the human half of the centaur taking place of the horse's head and neck. They wield swords, spears and sometimes have bows and arrows which they shoot as they circle around you. Cerberus Giant, three-headed demonic dogs/wolves about 8-10 feet tall that breathe fire. They are the most physically powerful enemy that Kratos faces aside from Cyclops. They can also spawn infant Cerberi, which rapidly mature into Cerberus if not killed. Cerberi Litter Tiny, puppy-like demonic dogs that breathe fire and are capable of curling themselves into a ball, engulfing themselves in fire, and lunging at an enemy. Left alive, they rapidly mature into Cerberus. Bosses Besides facing Ares, the player will also encounter the following bosses. The Hydra A massive sea serpent roughly the size of a small island, with innumerable heads; one head is significantly larger than the rest and sits central on the serpent's body, directing the movements of the other heads. As the game's main narrative begins, Kratos has been assigned by Poseidon, god of the sea, to kill the beast, which has been challenging his sovereignty by destroying ships and killing sailors. Kratos kills it by impaling the dominant head on the mast of a ship; when the main head dies, the rest follow, bursting open in grisly fashion. Medusa The Queen of the Gorgons, Medusa is a six foot tall monster with the torso of a woman and the tail of a snake; in place of hair she has a mass of writhing asps. Her skin is purple and her eyes glow, occasionally emitting a wave of green and white light that turns everything in its path to stone. Aphrodite tasks Kratos with killing Medusa and bringing her Medusa's head as a sacrifice. After offering Medusa's head as a sacrifice to Aphrodite, Aphrodite allows Kratos to keep the head to use its power to turn things to stone. Giant Minotaur A 20 foot tall, skeletal minotaur wearing nearly impenetrable armor. It guards the tomb of the Architect's son in the segment of the Temple of Pandora dedicated to Hades. Judging by the fact that a ballista is present in the Guardian's chamber, it was apparently placed there as a final test to anyone who had made it that far through the temple in an attempt to claim Pandora's Box. Kratos kills it by first chipping away its armor and then firing the ballista at it, impaling it to a door; in its death throes, the beast's hoof smashes open a sealed door, allowing Kratos to proceed. Doppelgängers Evil clones of Kratos, they have a purplish-grayish tint to their flesh. Ares manifests them in a cosmic arena resembling the temple where he accidentally murdered his family; in the arena are a pair of clones of his wife and child, whom Kratos must protect from the Doppelgängers. They possess all of Kratos' own skills and the Blades of Chaos (level one), and are nearly as powerful as him in one-on-one combat (level one Kratos), a problem compounded by the fact that they attack in a continuous swarm of dozens. Eventually, Kratos kills all of them, mocking Ares, who responds by stripping Kratos of all his powers and Blades of Chaos, and killing the clones of Kratos' family with the Blades, forcing him to relive their deaths. The Gifts from the Gods of Olympus During the course of the game, Kratos gains many different powers from the gods to aid him on his quest. * Aphrodite - The goddess of sexual love and physical beauty. She gives Kratos the ability Medusa's Gaze. It is obtained from Aphrodite by battling and defeating Medusa, the Queen of the Gorgons. Once Kratos brutally rips off her head with his bare hands, he is granted the ability to use its power. Medusa's Gaze allows Kratos to turn his enemies into stone. However, this power cannot be used on other gorgons. * Ares - The God of War. Ares is responsible for giving Kratos the Blades of Chaos. This weapon consists of two blades chained to Kratos' arms which serves as a permanent reminder of Kratos' pledge to serve the God of War. * Artemis - The goddess of the moon, hunting and wild animals. She gives Kratos the Blade of Artemis. It is a large, curving blade that is meant to be used with both hands. It was once used by Artemis to slay a Titan. Kratos, nevertheless, sometimes uses it single-handed. Surrounded by raw energies, the blade is capable of piercing armor and can easily damage any enemy. * Athena - The goddess of wisdom and Kratos' guardian. She gives the upgrade Rage of the Gods to the Blades of Chaos. It is an ultimate power that makes Kratos almost immune to all physical trauma and boosts his attack power exponentially, allowing him to obliterate enemies. This is a temporary transformation and once it runs out of power, Kratos will be forced to return to his normal form while his energy for this power slowly returns. When Kratos' Blades of Chaos are leveled up fully, it allows unlimited magic power while in Rage of the Gods. She gives Kratos Athena's Blades near the end as a replacement for the Blades of Chaos, which he lost during his battle with Ares. * Hades - The god of the dead and ruler of the Underworld. He gives Kratos the Army of Hades, which grants Kratos the power to summon the very souls of Hades itself in an unstoppable torrent of undead warriors. Not even the powers of Ares himself can withstand a sustained attack from the souls. * Poseidon - The god and ruler of the sea. He gives Kratos the power of Poseidon's Rage. This power grants Kratos the power of thunder and storms, allowing him to create powerful shockwaves and blasts of lightning around himself to repel and injure foes. * Zeus - The father of Mount Olympus, god of thunder and lord of the sky. Kratos obtains Zeus' Fury from the leader of the gods. Kratos can use this gift to summon and hurl lightining bolts at his enemies. Treasures The game contains three unlockable cutscenes which are intended as potential avenues of continuing the story. In the cutscene "Birth of the Beast", Kratos' past as a child is revealed as he and his younger brother are being ready to be trained to fight in the Spartan Army. Kratos had been well fit to become a soldier, but his brother had been too weak and died in the mountains. His brother had died and fell to Hades, growing of age and seeking revenge upon the brother who abandoned him. In the cutscene "A Secret Revealed", Kratos visited his mother and attempted to discover the identity of his anonymous father. Before she could reveal to him who his father was, she changed into a horrific monster. Driving his blade through his once so-called mother, with her last breath Kratos is told his father was Zeus. Kratos decided to take his revenge on Zeus for having abandoned him and his mother. The cutscene "The Fate of the Titan" describes the eventual death of Kronos, who had been carrying the Temple of Pandora on his back. Having said that all myths need not be from the past, explorers today eventually rediscovered it, with the temple still containing many secrets to be discovered. Development The game was in development for about three years before it was released. Before coming up with the final design for Kratos, he was originally an African with dreadlocks but this design was soon changed after it was decided they would go with Greek mythology. Kratos went through many different designs before it was decided on what he would look like for the final game. Sequels God of War spun off four more sequels. One on the PS2, One on the PSP, One (maybe more) on the PS3, and one for a Cell Phone. (See the next section) See Also *God of War: Chains of Olympus *God of War (Film) *God of War (soundtrack) *God of War: Betrayal *God of War II *God of War II (soundtrack) *God of War III Category: God of War Series